He is best thing to happen to Central Florida since Disney came to town

Dwight, let me tell you why the Orlando Sentinel writes about you so much.

Because we care about you so much.

You've got it all wrong, my friend.

We're not trying to run you out of Orlando; we desperately want you to stay in Orlando.

That's why your Twitter dispatches late Monday night were so baffling."Y does it seem like the writers of Orlando sentinel are tryna push me out of Orlando with dumb articles," you tweeted. "It's annoying. Can I enjoy my summer and get ready for next season in Orlando. Pls. Same thing u guys did to Shaq. … I'm not blaming the media. I'm saying stop with the dumb articles. They don't make be decision of mine. I jus don't want Orlando fans to believe them. Cuz they don't know. I love my city."

Dwight, we know U luv this city. We luv it 2.

And this is why we want you to stay. Because you are the best thing to happen to Central Florida since we gave Walt Disney all that land for $24 and some beaver pelts. A half-century ago, he built his Magic Kingdom and you have a chance to build one, too, Dwight.

Do you think we really want to run you out of town? Do you really think we want that new $500 million arena to become the world's biggest indoor flea market? Do you really think we want to hear public-address announcer Paul Porter utter these words: "And starting at center for the your Orlando Magic – DANIEL ORRRRRRRR-TON—TON-TON-TON!"

Dwight, believe me, there is nothing we want more than for you to stay in Orlando. I mean, seriously, what would occupy the Sentinel's pages if you left? We can only write so much about Tim Tebow's latest underwear commercial.

Dwight, why are you tweeting bad things about the hometown paper? We've always written 99.9 percent good things about you (OK, there was that one George Diaz column two years ago when he agreed with Bill Simmons about you not being an alpha dog.)

But what about that nice front-page story a few weeks ago about you winning the Community Involvement Award for being one of the most giving, charitable athletes in all of sports? Or how about the story about you having the greatest smile in sports? Or the one about how you brightened up the final days of a dying woman's life?

I wrote a couple of weeks ago that you are an even greater defensive force than the iconic Bill Russell. Diaz wrote that you, not Bulls point guard Derrick Rose, should win the league's MVP. Our tech people even designed a webpage – PleaseStayDwight.com – at OrlandoSentinel.com. Does this sound like a newspaper that is trying to run you out of town?

Yes, we have dedicated a lot of stories, blogs and commentary to your pending free-agency, but so has ESPN and a lot of other places. What do you expect? We are a one-horse sports town and you are our Secretariat. Let's face it, there is no more important issue in the Orlando sports than whether you re-sign with the Magic.

Ironically, Dwight, your tweets have opened the floodgates for even more rampant speculation. Jim Rome, Colin Cowherd, Dan Patrick and all of the big-boy radio shows are searching for the hidden meaning of your midnight tweets. The common refrain came from Cowherd Tuesday when he theorized that you are "setting the table so that when you leave Orlando you can blame the newspaper."

Don't blame the newspaper, Dwight. Last I checked, my editors were not consulted before the Gilbert Arenas trade. Don't blame someone else for a decision that is yours and yours alone. If you want to blame anybody about all the rampant speculation, blame LeBron. Blame Carmelo. They are the ones who left their teams for brighter lights and bigger cities. Now we have the army of ESPN pundits who are speculating that it's just matter of time before you make your "Decision" and leave Orlando for L.A.

You think we want that, Dwight? You think we want the thievin' Lakers stealing away Orlando's championships like they did all those years ago with Shaq? You think we want the Orlando Magic turning into the Sacramento/Anaheim Kings?

Dwight, this is your team and this is your town. Orlando has great weather, great attractions and, even more importantly, no state income tax. This city built you a new arena and I'm sure Mayor Buddy Dyer will gladly re-name it "The Dwight House" if you stay.

You have fans who love you and a franchise that spends more money on trying to win than all but four others in professional sports.

You don't need any stinking L.A. to be a national celebrity, Dwight. You're a national celebrity right here. You were the leading vote-getter in the All-Star game this year. You finished second in the MVP balloting. You have major sponsors and endorsements. You were on Leno just a few months ago.

Everybody wants you to stay, Dwight.

That includes the Orlando Magic, the Orlando fans and, yes, the Orlando Sentinel.

mbianchi@tribune.com Read Mike Bianchi's Open Mike blog at OrlandoSentinel.com/openmike and listen to his Open Mike radio show every weekday from 6 to 9 a.m. on 740-AM.